happy halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2013 by the simple quiet

be safe and merry!

rebecca

thanks to graphics fairy for the clip art!

phm update….

Posted on October 18, 2013 by the simple quiet

Today is the Primitive Handmades Mercantile October update. You should see all the fabulous things I have listed this month ~ woohoo! I’ve got some beauties! Trouble is, I thought the update was next Friday ~ oh dear oh dear ~ and I haven’t even started all those wonderful things I spoke of, in fact, all those wonderful things exist only in my imagination at this point. However, you can see all the beautiful, primitive, Autumn/Thanksgiving/Christmas offerings all the other timely PHM artists have this month by clicking here. Once you get to PHM just click on “Artists” in the upper right corner and you will find a list of all the shops.

Because I thought I had all this time on my hands, I’ve been doing other things….

ellis extends an arm of sympathy

I gave blood….

“the other arm, too? poor you” ~ ellis

…from both arms.

I took pictures of cats…

“the perfect perch!” ~ ellis

….who are acrobats, and….

“shhh… don’t tell ellis and otis where i am!” ~ lilly

…I took pictures of cats being cute, and cats who….

zzzzzzzzzz……

zzzzzzzzz…….

….sleep a lot.

I also decorated a few areas of the house to reflect the autumnal loveliness.

front door ~ indian corn wreath topped by status wreath.

little pumpkins on the front porch

burlap bows on the dinning chairs

pots with moss and topiaries

mini rusty fence

burlap and linen to top the table

burlap bunting at the window

Here’s to (me) being more responsible next month!

What have you been doing with all your “free” time?

may your calendar always reflect your obligations on the correct dates!

rebecca

supplies: hoops, floss, needles, kits…

Posted on October 16, 2013 by the simple quiet

This morning I was stocking up on some punch needle supplies. I’d recently broken one of my Morgan hoops while pulling my weavers cloth taut and needed to replace it. I’m something of a homebody (huge understatement) so I do most of my shopping online, plus the Joann’s/Hobby Lobby closest to me is a half hour away… half hour there, half hour in the store, half hour home again, that’s an hour and a half of punch or nap time. If you’re like me and prefer to do your shopping from the comfort of home here’s a reference guide to where I buy ~ fyi, I’m not affiliated in any way (except that I spend a lot of $ there!) with any of these shops…

morgan hoops

I like the Morgan hoop. It’s sturdy and allows for virtually no cloth slippage. Today, I ordered a hoop from punchneedlemarketplace.com ~ click here. You can also find Morgan hoops at joann.com ~ click here, and amazon.com ~ click here.

weavers cloth

Weavers cloth is available in many colors. I almost always use neutral because I can see the pattern I’m tracing through the cloth. I buy mine by the bolt from Joann’s online ~ click here. I also buy from Lori Brechlin (Notforgotten Farm) who sells beautiful weavers cloth by the yard on her etsy shop ~ click here.

valdani

I love Valdani perle cotton size 12 floss and there are lots of reasons I use it instead of DMC or other 6 strand flosses. The main reason is because it glides through the weavers cloth much more easily for me than other floss, limiting hand, wrist and forearm fatigue. This means I can punch for long periods of time, which means I can accomplish more, which means I can sell more finished pieces, which means I can buy more Valdani. Yes, it’s pricier than other flosses… much pricier, but in the end it saves me time and pain and it is also gentler on the earth than other floss, which is a big deal for me. Snowflake memories is my go to for Valdani. You can visit snowflakememories.com by clicking here.

cameo needles

I use Cameo punch needles (lots of them). I like a medium needle tip and I set my length at the lowest (#1) setting for most projects. I buy Cameos whenever I see them on sale. You can find them by clicking on any of the following links: Notforgotten Farm on etsy, Amazon, punch needle marketplace. Also a “cameo punch needle” search on ebay and etsy will often yield results.

patterns

I typically purchase my patterns from Notforgotten Farm ~ click here and Bird in the Hand Primitives ~ click here. I also like Chestnut Junction ~ click here, Need’l Love ~ click here, and Patternmart ~ click here. In addition, I find lots of patterns on fellow bloggers blogs. Every couple of years or so I check in with my favorite designers to see if their policies have changed. For example, I’ll ask if I can use a cross stitch pattern to make a punch needle piece.

lavender and chamomile

I like to stuff my punch needle pillows with things organic and fragrant. I find most of my herbs on etsy ~ click here ~ by simply searching for “organic lavender” or “organic chamomile” or whatever the case may be. Balsam is a wonderful stuffing material, too, and Lori Brechlin offers organic sawdust at her etsy shop (which I am going to be ordering soon!) ~ click here.

with thy needle and thread ~ brenda gervais

As far as kits go, I don’t usually purchase any, but if I were to I’d head straight to Brenda Gervais countrystitchesonline.com ~ click here. Mrs. Gervais sells her gorgeous patterns and Valdani thread kits separately on her website. Even if you don’t purchase anything from her, it’s so worth visiting her website for some eye candy or her blog, With Thy Needle and Thread ~ click here. Other kits can also be found at Joann’s ~ click here.

from top to bottom: lilly, otis, ellis

No punch needle project would be complete without a friend or three. Where does one find a lapful of kittens?

from left to right: otis, ellis, lilly

Sadly, cats and kittens (and dogs and puppies and a multitude of other creatures) are often abandoned by their people. In the case of Lilly, Ellis and Otis, my husband and I found them left on a road to fend for themselves. At less than one pound each, they didn’t stand a chance on their own. The person who dropped them will never know what jewels s/he threw away, for three better, kinder companions could not be found!

happy punching!

rebecca

crow and jack….

Posted on October 8, 2013 by the simple quiet

ah, autumn…

Is there anything lovelier than the brilliant Fall sun cascading over a patch of pumpkins?

notforgotten farm

One of my favorite Fall patterns is the above, Crow and Jack, by Lori Brechlin. This particular design is from her Wytches Stytches booklet, which I don’t think Lori sells anymore. However, she has many other wonderful Autumnal offerings that you can see if you visit her blog by clicking here.

fall flosses

The colors I’m planning to use are, from left to right: 8112, 8111, H212, PT2, O505, H205 and P5. These are all Valdani perle cotton size 12 which I use in my Cameo punch needle on the lowest setting. I purchase almost all my Valdani from Snowflake Memories, which you can visit by clicking here.

one more color!

As I punch merrily along, I decide to replace the brown H212 with the ecru 5. Isn’t that O505 a lovely pumpkin color? Valdani makes things so easy by creating such gorgeous variegated flosses!